Beau Stephens finds renewed opportunity after he ‘100 percent trusted’ Iowa

IOWA CITY — As Beau Stephens went through middle school, Kelly Donohoe “had a big, old joker on our hands we were excited about.”

The former Blue Springs (Mo.) head coach also knew it was a matter of time before coaches at the next level would feel similarly about Stephens.

“Beau was just a big, physically strong kid,” Donohoe said. “He had pretty good feet. So we knew that he was definitely a kid that big schools would be excited about come his junior, senior year.”

Donohoe was right. College football heavyweights such as LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Michigan were among the schools to offer Stephens.

Stephens’ biggest reason for choosing Iowa? “The people,” he said this week.

“That was what I was looking for in my recruitment,” Stephens said. “Not to (knock) anybody else or say they were bad, but I just 100 percent trusted in the fundamentals of the program, the togetherness that we have as a unit.”

Stephens’ unequivocal belief appears to be rewarded soon as all signs point toward the fourth-year junior starting at left guard this season on Iowa’s veteran-laden offensive line.

With four of last year’s starters on the offensive line returning, left guard appeared to be the one spot up for grabs. Stephens seemed to take it with little fanfare or drama.

Both Iowa’s preseason and Week 1 depth charts have listed Stephens as Iowa’s first-team left guard. At Iowa’s local media day on Aug. 9, offensive line coach George Barnett said Stephens was doing a “tremendous job” at left guard and was “way more consistent.”

Stephens’ path to this point in his Hawkeye career has been far from a straight line, however.

“Beau’s had quite a journey since he got here,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “And that whole COVID class, it’s been interesting. He's fought through a lot — the injuries, a lot of things that could have gotten him discouraged.”

Stephens was among the offensive linemen in recent years thrust into major roles early in their careers. He started 10 games at right guard (and appeared in two others as a reserve) as a redshirt freshman in 2022.

That was the year when Iowa had two upperclassmen on the offensive line who saw substantial game action (then-junior Nick DeJong and senior Jack Plumb). Stephens and other underclassmen were “trying to do our best possible job.”

“It was all a learning experience,” Stephens said. “We all were trying to get better. … We had a gap of experience and senior leadership.”

Then he had a smaller role as a sophomore in 2023. Stephens was officially ruled out for the first game and then saw limited action in five of Iowa’s next eight games.

“The coach felt more comfortable putting some other players in, and I 100 percent respected that,” Stephens said.

The bulk of his 2023 opportunities came in Iowa’s Nov. 4 game against Northwestern as injuries quickly added up on the offensive line. Then he also suffered an injury and needed to be carted off the field. He did not see game action again in 2023.

The 6-foot-6 offensive lineman has capitalized on better health in 2024 — in spring practices and fall camp.

“Last spring was a big, big period for him,” Ferentz said. “He was able to be out there all 15 days.”

Stephens said it is good to “not go to practice and be like, ‘Oh man, I can’t go 100 percent.’ Or, ‘stuck in individual (drills).’”

“I’m just excited to really see what my body can do and see how I can execute on a Saturday,” Stephens said.

The healthy Stephens has operated with a mindset of “attack each day, try to improve yourself, make it so that the coach wants to play you as much as possible.” He also has been trying to play with more confidence.

“When you’re more confident, you can play harder,” Stephens said. “You can do it without second-guessing yourself."

It marks an improvement from earlier in his career, when he “might have gotten down on myself, lost a little confidence.”

Some of Stephens’ confidence stems from the players around him. To the left of Stephens, Mason Richman enters the 2024 season with 39 career starts at left tackle. On the other side, center Logan Jones has 26 career starts and was a third-team all-Big Ten honoree in 2023.

“I got Mason and Logan on my side, on my hip, and I trust them 100 percent with my life,” Stephens said. “With anything, honestly. If I ever was in a need, I know that they would be there for me.”

Barring a change between Monday’s depth chart release and Saturday’s 11 a.m. kickoff, Stephens will be set to make his first start in 689 days.

“I’m anxious to see him play,” Ferentz said. “He’ll have some ups and downs, like all the guys on Saturday, but he’s a guy that’s got a really good future in front of him. I’m just really pleased for him the way he’s fought through and pushed through.”

Before the first snap of the 2024 season, though, he will first get a reminder of the “people” aspect of what made Iowa so appealing when he committed four years ago.

“When we swarm out on Saturday, we feel tight, we feel close and that’s what I was looking for in a program,” Stephens said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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